Bands of Outlaws
by tiffanylouise
Summary: "Let's go get some justice." Robin and his gang discover a set of young 'Robin Hood' wannabes parading about the forest during a tax raid. Who are these young people and what happens when one of them becomes injured.
1. Chapter 1:

_So this is a new story I am currently posting, with a little help from DancingTiger I have to admit! Set mid season 1. Please review and even follow! Many thanks!_

* * *

Robin let a cocky smile cross his face, steadying his hand as he pulled back on the arrow. It was perfectly aligned with the deer, and the arrow was ready to go right through the heart of the beast. Robin knew that it would be a hearty supper for his men. They deserved it, especially after such a long day at work. And by work, he meant archery practice. Feeling the smooth wood once more between his fingers, Robin let the arrow fly, and it hit home. The deer dropped to the ground, spindly legs collapsing beneath it. Bounding through the green growth of the woods towards his felled target, Robin thought back to archery practice.

It wasn't like his men were incompetent. In fact, it was quite the opposite. They could handle a sword like nobody's business, and were damn fine with whatever other weapons you gave them. Little John could maneuver his staff like it was part of him, all lethal, no give. But Robin wanted more than that, in his heart. His bow was his life and livelihood, and maybe he wanted it to be that to others.

Not many of them showed much promise other than Allan. Little John could hit a target from pretty close range, and Robin knew that if they were in a pinch he might help them. Will on the other hand couldn't do it for the life of him. Robin was almost a second late to save him from shooting his own foot, hardly believable that he could make a mistake so awful. Much and Djaq weren't awful, but they weren't great either. Only Allan had succeeded in hitting a target any smaller than a human head.

It took Robin a few seconds to tie the rope around the deer's body and begin to drag it back to their camp for the feast. The muscles in his arms bulged as he began up the hill, the deer's hooves scoring marks in the dirt of the forest that Robin called home. About halfway up, though the weight was no struggle for him, Robin began to wish that he had chosen a smaller target.

'At least we'll be able to save some of it' he thought to himself as he moved through the trees. A rustle came by his hearing, and Robin stopped moving for a moment. The rustle came again, and within a second Robin's bow was up and back, an arrow poised and ready to fly. Possibilities flew through his mind in the span of a few seconds, but nothing came up sounding quite right. Guards and the Sheriff's men came on horses, and they didn't move with grace. No animal except a deer could produce such a loud sound, but the deer would have kept moving. Other than his men, no one would be there.

"Come out now! It's not funny you guys!" Waiting took only a few seconds, with not a sound other than the whisper of the wind and his own breath. Robin put the arrow back, and let the bow hang by his side. His head scanned from side to side one last time before resuming in his trek with the deer dragging on behind him. The final conclusion that he came to was it was just his own hearing, nothing more. It bugged Robin that he could be so sensitive all of the time, even though it was what had saved his behind more than once, and sometimes he wished that he wouldn't be so uptight all the time.

Shrugging it off took no more effort than it took to drag the deer all the way back to camp, where Much was entertaining everybody with stories of dreams that he had gotten after eating spoiled cheese. Robin only knew these stories all too well, having to hear each of them a hundred times too many when they were traveling. Robin let out the short and high whistle, the pitch that told everyone in the gang that he was back. They all perked up and stood, leaving Much sitting there, looking a bit befuddled that everyone would stop paying attention to him so quickly.

"Hey guys! I have a treat for you!" Robin hoisted the deer up above his head, and Much finally jumped to his feet. Everyone, every last outlaw let out a whoop of joy. Robin slid down the hill on his heels, and dropped the deer down on the ground by the low fire. It took no time at all for the band of outlaws to set to skinning the creature of its wiry brown pelt.

When they were done with that messy task they started on putting it on sticks in form of a spit, and began to roast the deer over a fire that they grew by feeding it dry sticks. Robin sat back, a stalk of wheat in his mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully. Will was spending time hunting for sharp rocks they would use to sharped their swords and daggers, while Djaq was trying to clean the deer pelt as best she could. Robin knew that they would use it well for some kind of bedding.

Sherwood forest was a best a home as any, and Robin knew he wouldn't trade the life he knew he had now for anything in the world.

"Hey Robin, you got any more feathers?" That was Allan calling to him, and Robin sat up and looked at the man. After a moment of thought, Robin shook his head. They had used the last of the feathers long ago. Wondering why Allan had asked, he got to his feet and made his way to the man's sitting place.

It turned out Allan had a few arrows sitting on his lap, all arrow's retrieved from fights or stolen from the Sherriff's men. To the best of Robin's knowledge, he had most of the arrows that were around camp. But here Allan was, with a few more. Robin questioned him immediately.

"What are you doing with those arrows?" An accusatory tone had taken itself to Robin's voice, and Allan held up his hands in a sign of mock surrender.

"It's alright Robin. These are all damaged. They wouldn't fly straight, even from your bow. The feathers or shafts are damaged, and I am going to do the best I can to repair them. You know that we have to take everything we can around here and make use of it." Robin nodded, and Allan knew the look in his eye to be one of forgiveness for his short tone, something that the prided man would never admit aloud. Robin looked to the sky, squinting his eyes at the sun that filtered through the leaves, then turned back to Allan.

"You said you needed feathers?" Seeing Allan nod, Robin casually drew an arrow from its quiver. Running his fingers over it once, Robin put it in his bow and drew it back. Looking Allan in the eye, he shot the arrow into the sky without a second glance. Allan let a confused look cross his face, and then sighed.

"Now why'd you do that Robin? Obviously we can't just go wasting arrows like-" Robin held up a finger, a mischievous smile crossing over his face. Allan rolled his eyes, but watched Robin anyways. A few seconds later there was a soft whistling sound, and Robin outstretched a hand. A large bird with an arrow through its head fell into Robin's palm. Removing the arrow and wiping it on his forest green garments, Robin handed the bird to Allan.

"I trust this will do?" Allan only rolled his eyes, eliciting a smile of elation from Robin. No one needed clarification that this meant 'yes.'

Suddenly, Will came bursting through the trees, looking as if he had a ghost on his heels. Everyone in the camp stood up, most of them with hands going to their belts, resting on their swords. Panting only for a moment, Will pointed back into the trees, and finally smiled.

"Tax collector, two guards, heading through the forest. They're walking and looking pretty content with themselves." Robin felt a smile cross his face, and he snatched up his bow from where he had it leaning against a tree. Everyone looked to him, and it only took a few words to get everyone moving.

"Let's go get some justice."

* * *

_There we go, please review! _


	2. Chapter 2: On An Off Day

_Yes, so I couldn't wait to publish the second chapter! Enjoy and PLEASE reply! Help from Dancing Tiger still!_

* * *

Robin watched from between the trees as the cart that had a few trunks on it rumbled through the forest. Two guards in black and gray followed on two chestnut horses, and nobody looked particularly uptight about anything. Robin knew that they were foolish indeed. They were moving through the very forest where he and his outlaws slept, and they looked as if they had not a care in the world. The bow was in steady hands, and Robin drew it back. His aim was focused on the two inches of wood right between the tax collector's legs. Ready to let it go, a whistle that was the familiar sound of an arrow going through the air made Robin freeze. An arrow was lodged in the trunk that surely held the money, and Robin had no idea where it came from.

He was about to signal to the men he knew he had placed around the perimeter of the area they had planned to attack, but small shapes suddenly burst from the bushes around the cart.

Robin was so surprised, he didn't even think to move at first. None of the outlaw's did either, because they operated on his command. It was a sight to see. All that Robin could do was watch. It seemed that there were other's with his same idea. All clothed in green of different shades and a fair amount of brown, there were flashes of silver as the group quickly overcame the guards and the tax collector.

Robin held back on the signal to go, even though Much, who was beside him, cast him a look. A smile actually was on Robin's face, even though it was ever such a small smile, as he watched them work. It was about three men to each guard, which was why they were overpowered so easily. They seemed to leave the tax collector alone, for he was mostly cowering in the front section of the cart. At the count that Robin saw amongst the fighting, he counted seven people that were stealing his thunder.

That thought really sent Robin ready to go. He would let them defeat the guards for him, and then he would move in to do what he did best. Take care of the people that took money from those who were barely surviving. What Marian had said once to him was true. Though what he did was for the good of his heart, the reputation didn't hurt.

Watching one of the figures scramble up on the cart, Robin watched a flash of silver wrench the chest open. Robin saw one of the guards rise from one of the stronger blows and move up behind the person trying to gather as much from the chest as he could. A long sword and a glint off the silver blade and suddenly, the person was spun away from the chest and sent to clutching their arm.

This was it for Robin. He couldn't even tell if they were people with the same cause as him in fighting the guards and tax collector, or common thieves vying for the taxes themselves. And now one of them had gotten hurt, and if they were indeed good, this was something that Robin wouldn't stand for. He let out a call and whistle to his people, and they surged through the forest and to the people that were attacking already.

The largest of them, the one that had gotten wounded by the guard, yelled out to everyone something that Robin couldn't quite hear over the sound of metal clanging. Suddenly, everything stopped. The one guard crumpled to the ground with a final blow as the attackers clothed in forest clothes like Robin and his own men sprinted away, melting into the woods. That wasn't what mattered to Robin though. The lead man it seemed, the injured one, was the last to be making a run for it. Almost as if he wanted to make sure all of his men were safe before he went himself.

"Just like I would" Robin thought to himself as he sprinted towards the lead man. Even though he was the last to go, the leader did have quite a sprint going. One hand clutching his arm where the guard had dealt a nice blow, he was making his was deep into the trees. Robin barely stopped for a moment to shout orders to Allan, Little John, and Will, all of whom showed up at the cart about the same time as Robin.

"Get him!" Robin knew that he was their last hope for catching any of these people. He was already disappearing, and Robin tore after him. Feet pounding over the dirt, Robin chased the lead man. He seemed to be going a certain direction, for he navigated the forest well enough. But the hundred yard lead on Robin wasn't all that much in all actuality. While Robin had to commend the man for knowing the forest well enough to run so quickly through it, and with an injury, he topped anyone in knowledge of this forest. He knew it as well as his bow, each tree and bramble, where it lay, and when it grew. Robin gained on the man, watching as he pulled a hood of green over his head, a common disguise that Robin used himself. In fact, the cape with the hood seemed to look similar to his own.

It wasn't like that would make him disappear though. Robin kept gaining on the sprinting figure, who was beginning to slow. The endless endurance that Robin possessed kept him going, while the man kept on slowing down. Eventually, as Robin was only a few more paces from him, the figure whipped around his hands up, ready to fight. Robin took a swipe in but the figure was smaller and quicker than he had first anticipated. A fist sunk into his gut, but Robin knew that meant the man was close enough for himself to get a shot in. A few blows from each party later, the smaller of the pair lay on the ground, winded, blood soaking through the green, and Robin standing victorious. He hauled the man to his feet, and dragged him back through the woods as he would a criminal.

He knew that whoever this was surely had some others in alliance with him, and was not bad at fighting either. Robin had already seen him do quite a number on the guard and his cart. It was only after a few feet that the rest of Robin's gang showed up, ready to aid him in dragging their new prisoner back to their camp. Not even bothering to lift the hood to show his face, Robin smiled to himself. They had caught what was surely a bandit of some sort, and on an off day too.

* * *

_Review, review, review!_


End file.
